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So homemakers "glommed on to" labor-saving devices and then "glommed on to" TV, when it came out, because it was too onerous to perform tasks themselves, and now everyone stares at a screen all day and pays money that they've worked outside the home to earn in order to join a gym where they walk nowhere on a treadmill in order to get the exercise they no longer get performing homemaking tasks themselves, which brought other rewards. I'm not convinced we're any better off...
I do see your point, but consider the post directly above yours. It isn't just homemakers, it is everyone. Almost everyone living today has abandoned most of the labor-intensive, hands-on way of living in favor of a more mechanized lifestyle, and there is good reason for that: there are other things they would rather be doing.
I agree that there can be satisfying aspects to some chores, such as hanging up clothes outside in the fresh air (I still do this). Or kneading bread (I do this too). But any time I don't feel like hanging out the laundry, or if it's raining, I have the option of a clothes dryer. I can buy bread whenever I want to. Our ancestors didn't have any such options; they had to do things the hard way because there was no other way.
We have the luxury of being able to wax nostalgic and sentimental over the simple, old-fashioned life, and philosophize about how satisfying it must have been. But, for example, if it had really been so wonderfully satisfying to boil clothes in a tub and scrub them on a washboard (developing healthy biceps into the bargain), then we'd still be doing the wash that way.
And unless you live out in the woods with no running water or electricity, and walk wherever you go or ride a horse, you're part of it too.
Big companies make money by doing the least they can get by with
I have cleaning woman past 12 yrs
Does ceiling fans, molding, windows inside plus vacuum and mops
Wipes down furniture
Great cleaner and very trustworthy
I use a trustworthy cleaning woman also. She needs the money and does a better job than I do. I never thought of cleaning house as an art. More of a skill.
We have a clean house. It is NOT a museum, though. Dirty dishes don't linger in the sink, counters and bathrooms get wiped down daily, crumbs swept up, stuff is never piled up, etc. But we aren't freaks about it.
We are lucky to have someone come in weekly to do a full vacuum and mop and a fuller clean of the kitchens and baths. That's always nice, and she does a nice job but the house is not what I would call deep-cleaned.
From time to time I will deep-clean a room For me, that means a bunch of microfiber cloths, mild cleaning products, moving furniture a little to get the dust bunnies, wiping down moldings and all frames, light fixtures, etc.
Recently we had to hire one of those whole-home deep cleaning companies and I have to say I was underwhelmed. It just wasn't on their radar to do floor moldings, light fixtures, dust up to ceiling corners, etc. We really had to direct most of their work. This was a highly-rated company too.
Is cleaning a lost art?
I clean my house like a silly mouse. I live alone joan so not that much to clean really. Do the bathtub- shower every 3 weeks. Vac with the dyson every 2 weeks and so on.
I think some people who do that kind of work today may believe people who hire them don't know how to clean and thats why they hire some one else to do it. Most of the new interiors I see today don't require much work.
No. I know how to clean. I just choose to not do the heavy duty stuff. Is that hard to understand?
No. I know how to clean. I just choose to not do the heavy duty stuff. Is that hard to understand?
Its hard for people to understand who clean homes for a living. A good example is ,my sons work on their cars , my two brothers work on their cars, a male cowoker works on his car, three of my best friends work on their cars. If my car doesn't start or sounds funny I call a wrecker and later that day or the next day a mechanic calls me and I write him a check a drive my car home. Aside from my sons , they all are convinced I cant work on a car. I choose not to.
This is an interesting thread because I am dealing with something similar right now.
I just bought a house that's about 15 years old. I think I am the third owner. Anyway, the owner I bought it from was in her seventies, and she "lived gently" in the house but didn't give a fig about the yard (the previous owners were yard fanatics) and barely even turned the sprinkler system on. This is in Texas so that's pretty harsh to a yard. Let's just say the yard is nothing but weeds now.
But that's not the only thing that's a bit disheartening. On top of that, while she wasn't destructive with the house, she wasn't a neat freak. So now I'm finding all sorts of dirty corners, dirty mirrors, etc. that weren't obvious when she was living here.
In her defense, like I said, she's in her early seventies (though a very healthy early seventies) and retired about five years ago so she is used to working full time and probably never really was much into keeping things super clean - I would bet she had a maid when she was working.
Meanwhile, I am closing on my own house (well, my former house) Monday. So after I moved out, I hired a "professional cleaning company." Now, I knew the house wasn't filthy - it was more dust than anything else. In fact, when I met the cleaning company there, the main woman told me what I already knew - that the house wasn't dirty, it was just dusty. Well, long story short, that was yesterday. Today the house is still not cleaned. At least there are signs of activity there - there are some cleaning supplies she left there so I figure she's coming back. But the house itself appears to have barely been touched. Listen, I don't need it to be perfect but my goodness, can't we sweep and mop the dang floors? I'm afraid if she doesn't finish it, I am going to have to finish it and I am frankly sick to death of that house. The last thing I want to do is try to clean it Monday morning before the closing. YIKES!
So yes, I am wondering too if even professional house cleaners really know what they're doing.
On a more positive note, I hired someone to clean all the windows and besides doing a jam up job, they also weren't very expensive. I highly, highly recommend this and will definitely hire it to be done the next time I notice windows looking a bit like they need to be cleaned!
A 5 year old CAN put away toys, clothes, make own bed, bring dishes to the kitchen, be a mom little helper, no?
I felt like my kids were raised to help me keep the house clean, on top of just being healthy happy kids. When they were five, I didn't feel like they could make their own beds, and I didn't want them to help me in the kitchen, but they could and did put their toys away. I mean, "away" might be all thrown into a basket but hey, at least they were all in one place.
By the time they were in school full time (first grade), they knew they would go straight to hell if they left the house without making up their beds!
I relate to all of this especially the having been raised to help clean. When I was growing up, Saturday was "house-cleaning day" and the entire day was dedicated to it. Everyone in the family vacuumed, dusted, cleaned bathrooms, and when the inside of the house was done, we moved outside and did yard work or washed the cars.
There is no way now that I would spend a whole day every week cleaning. My theory is that I did enough of that for a lifetime, at a very early age.
You are describing my childhood to a T! My mom was always a pretty good house keeper and one thing we did every single Saturday, starting at 9 am sharp (we got to sleep in or watch cartoons or whatever a little later than usual) was clean that house and yard inside and out. Strip all the beds, do all the laundry, dust, sweep, mop, vacuum, iron, you name it. Then like you said, we moved outside. Or my mom and I (and my dad for a bit) would tackle the inside of the house and all the "boys" (my dad and two brothers) would tackle the outside. As soon as we were done, we were cut loose for the rest of the weekend, which was a nice incentive to githerdone. So that's what we did, usually finishing around 1 pm, then we'd have a sandwichy sort of lunch all together and we'd all be dirty and sweaty but the house and yard would look great.
I did that myself while my kids were growing up and I was working. Now that I'm not working full time, I just do it as it needs doing, so the house pretty much stays clean. However, one thing I am adamant about is hanging things outside in the sun, and airing bedding and that sort of thing. That typically happens once a week but now I have the luxury of a weather forecast so I know when to do it - LOL. Back in the day, it was on Saturdays, period, and if we couldn't air things out or air dry them, we'd put them in the dryer.
To this day, I love the scent of sheets and pillows and bedding stuff that's been in the sun all day long.
We twice lived in base housing. It was understood that if you didn't hire their recommended cleaners, you wouldn't pass the inspection.
They literally white-gloved everything.
That was my experience and I want that back, please.
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